Not Even the Mala Noche
by Lieutenant Caine
Summary: Not even the Mala Noche could keep him from her side when she needed him most.


**A/N This will be the last of the "reprints" for a while, since my wrist is back to almost 100% mobility. Thank you for being patient with the lack of "new" updates. I do hope the older reprinted stories haven't been too much of a bore. To all who have reviewed recently, I thank you, even if I haven't personally responded to all of you, I thank you sincerely as a group. Your reviews are precious to me, and I cherish them. You make me smile.  
**

"**All In"**

**(The way that episode really should have ended)**

**CBS owns all, they know all, they see all…oops sorry, got a little carried away there.**

**REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR**

"_You're not gonna get the chance."_

_(Sound of H's gun being cocked)_

"_Now, if I were you, Id' fold. Don't you agree, Calleigh?"_

Three hours later...

"Really, Eric, I'm fine. Thanks for driving me home. I'll see you in the morning." Calleigh smiled at him and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay with you for a while?" Eric asked quietly.

"I'll be just fine," she lied. "I'm going to get a little bite to eat and then curl up with a cup of chamomile tea and try to relax for a while.

"Okay, Cal. Take care of yourself. Call me if you need anything." Eric's voice still carried the strain of the last several hours.

"I will. Good night, Eric."

"Good night, Calleigh."

Calleigh watched as Eric walked back to the Hummer and then sighed heavily as she closed the door and locked it, making extra certain that the deadbolt was firmly in place. She shivered slightly as she wandered back through the living room, still too edgy inside to really relax. Her ribs were hurting where her abductor had kicked her and she was aching all over from tension and stress. A groan slid from her throat as she sat down on the couch and dropped her head into her hands. No tears came, she was too wound up for that, but tremors began to shake her slender frame.

The scene played itself again against her closed eyelids.

"_Miami-Dade Police. Open up." Then the door had opened and she could see three forms seated at the poker table. Her abductor prodded her viciously with his gun, walking her directly toward the group. Realization and hope flared as she recognized Ryan, Frank and Eric…Suddenly three weapons were trained on her captor. "I'll kill her," the man responded. Then Calleigh heard the sweetest sound that had ever fallen on her ears. "You're not gonna get the chance. Now, if I were you, I'd fold. Don't you agree, Calleigh?" Relief surged through her in intense waves as the sound of Horatio's voice caressed her senses. Relief that he was home, relief that he was safe, relief that he was the one who literally had her back. Yes, the others were there for her too, but it was Horatio she had silently screamed for in her mind when the men had first abducted her._

Wearily Calleigh rubbed her temples and leaned back against the pillows scattered over the couch, trying to quiet the throbbing tension in her head. She had just managed to find a somewhat comfortable spot when the doorbell rang. _Horatio. _Somehow she just knew…

On shaking legs she made her way to the door and managed to get it unlocked and open in spite of her trembling fingers and then suddenly, magically she found herself wrapped in Horatio's arms, held tightly against this chest. The caress of his silk shirt beneath her cheek and the sound of his frantically beating heart were heaven to her battered emotions. The smell of his cologne was intoxicating. The warmth of his lean strong body surrounded her, melting the coldness that had numbed her to everything but survival during the ordeal.

"Horatio," she whispered, a world of emotion in that one word. She nestled as close to him as she could get, and still it wasn't enough.

"Calleigh, Calleigh…" he groaned over and over as his hands stroked over her back, "I could have lost you." Horatio's voice was ragged, his breath uneven.

"All the time I was in Rio, my one thought was to get back to you, to hold you, to feel you in my arms. Then when Eric told me you'd been kidnapped, I almost died." He winced at the remembered agony that had speared through him when he learned of Calleigh's abduction.

Looking down into her eyes, he whispered her name and then swiftly captured her lips in a desperate, hungry kiss. All his emotions of the last 48 hours were channeled into that one touch. The aching loneliness he'd felt when he'd climbed into that US Marshall's vehicle, knowing he might never make it back alive; the haunting fear that he would never see or touch Calleigh again; the terrible gut-wrenching terror when he'd heard that she'd been kidnapped…all of it came pouring out of him, transforming itself into a blistering, soul-searing kiss.

Calleigh's response was no less intense. She arched her body closer to his, fusing herself into his arms as she floodgates of emotion crashed open and torrents of need rushed out.

Desperately Horatio's mouth devoured hers, his lips rocking over his in a frantic effort to bring her into himself, to absorb her essence and assure himself that she was okay. His hands mapped out eager strokes over her body, caressing and loving every soft curve, her shoulders, her hips, and the sweet rounded swell of her breasts. Then one hand tunneled deep into the silken fall of her hair to cradle her head, while the other settled at her waist, urging her closer to him. Lifting his head for a brief second, he gazed down at her face and saw his own hunger mirrored there in her eyes.

"Calleigh," he groaned. "I need you so."

Her answer was to reach for him tenderly with both hands and pull him back down into a passionate kiss, her lips parting eagerly beneath his, begging for his entrance. He needed no second invitation. His tongue stroked in smoothly, mating with hers, dancing and dueling, sending pulse beats of need coursing through both of them. Only the need for oxygen tore them apart, and only for the time it took Horatio to inhale a shuddering breath, then his lips were on hers again. His body curved into hers, bending her backward, impressing on her just how desperately he needed her. The hardness of his arousal burned through the thin material of her slacks, and Calleigh gasped in answering desire.

When Horatio's mouth left hers, she whimpered in protest until she felt his hands reach behind her to grasp the zipper of her shirt. Her pulse rate went up as the zipper slid down her back, releasing her from the close-fitting blue material. Lovingly, Horatio eased the shirt from her shoulders and slid it off her arms. Then he slid the straps of her bra down her arms and reached to cup her breasts in his hands, lifting them from the lacy confines of the bra. Calleigh moaned with pleasure as his mouth descended to brush soft kisses across the rounded swells and then took one rosy nipple into his mouth, His tongue stroked and swirled across her, sending shockwaves of pleasure shooting through her.

"Horatio…" she gasped out when he nipped lightly with his teeth, "…ahh"

"Calleigh, what you do to me," he muttered thickly, as his mouth left her breast to trail hot, moist kisses down her stomach and over her ribs. He devoured every inch of skin his lips came in contact with, stroking with his tongue, teething lightly and brushing kissing randomly over her trembling body.

While his mouth was driving her crazy, his hands were wreaking their own sweet havoc. Eager fingers sought for and found the button clasp of her slacks, and quickly undid it, then lowered the material down her legs. Cool air kissed her skin until the welcomed heat of Horatio's warm hands replaced that sensation. He let his hands glide over the soft curves of her bottom, then down the length of her thighs, sending her heart racing. Then he slid one hand beneath the edge of her black lace panties and he groaned when his fingers met hot, sweet wetness. He stroked into her lightly, feeling her body jolt with pleasure each time he moved his hand. Desire darkened his eyes to almost black as he watched her respond freely to his touch.

"Calleigh," he whispered. "Calleigh."

Passion had so swept her away that she was incapable of responding with more than a soft groan of desire. The sound sent a wave of hot, urgent need through Horatio's body, and he echoed her breathless exclamation.

He swept her up into his arms and carried her to the couch where he tenderly laid her down. Then he quickly removed his own shirt and pants, tossing them to the floor, mindless of their expensive cut and tailoring. Before the absence of contact with his body could create a chill on her skin, he had stretched himself above her, bearing his weight on his forearms. Skin to skin contact had him breathless as he reveled in the felling of her soft curves pressed to intimately to his lean form. He bent his head and captured her lips with his, the kiss growing deep and blatantly sexual in its intent. Then he softly kissed his way across her cheek and nuzzled against the side of her neck.

Calleigh let go of a tiny inarticulate cry of pleasure and then managed to whimper, "Please, Horatio, I need you now."

In response, he settled one firmly muscled thigh between her legs and pressed lightly against her. Calleigh thrilled him with the urgency of her response. Desperately she ground herself against his leg, coating him with slick evidence of her need. The contact was just enough to keep her poised on the edge, but not enough to grant her the release she sought.

"Horatio, please…" she gasped, her body straining, hungry for the feel of him deep within her.

"Sweetheart…" he groaned and shifted position so that he was once more lying directly above her. Stilling his motion, he gently framed her face with his hands and looked down into her eyes, eyes that were bright with desire and deep hunger.

"Calleigh, this is not just about tonight, not just about adrenaline high clouding my judgment, not just relief that you're safe. I love you, Calleigh Duquesne. Don't ever doubt that," and with those words, he slowly and tenderly stroked into her, sliding home with one smooth thrust. The liquid heat surrounding him ripped a groan from his throat and he had to force himself to hold back.

Calleigh's eyes went wide at the feeling of him settling deep inside her. Her hands gripped his hips, frantically trying to pull him deeper, her body arching toward him. Then Horatio began to thrust into her, smoothly, deeply and Calleigh lost all ability to think. Her body responded purely on an instinctive level, lost in the elemental sensations that swept through her with each thrust he made. Searing pleasure built to an almost excruciating level and Calleigh felt herself teetering on the edge.

"Horatio…so…so close." Her entire body trembled as she felt her hold on sanity slipping.

He brushed soft kisses along her neck, following the racing pulse to the base of her throat and he whispered gently, "Let go, Sweetheart, I've got you." His whiskey smooth voice murmuring in those seductive tones broke the last of her control and she plunged headlong into an overwhelming climax. Her body shuddered beneath his as wave after wave of pleasure washed through her.

The feeling of Calleigh's intense release surged into and through Horatio, and he let go his own impressive self control and followed her into the oblivion of pure pleasure. He emptied himself into her, groaning out her name as starbursts flickered behind his tightly closed eyes and his vision dimmed momentarily.

After some time, reality settled down on them like a soft blanket. Horatio became aware of the fact that his entire weight was resting on Calleigh's slender body, crushing her. Gently he wrapped her in his arms and rolled over onto his back so that she was resting on his chest.

"Calleigh? Are you okay, Sweetheart?" he asked softly as his hands stroked over her back in a soothing motion.

She lifted her head from his shoulder and looked down into his eyes.

"Oh, Handsome, I'm better than I have been since I had to watch you being led away knowing I couldn't do one damned thing about it. Even the kidnapping wasn't as bad as the fear that you'd never make it back from Rio alive." Tears welled in her eyes as she spoke and Horatio gently cupped her face in with his hands and thumbed away the tears, shushing her.

"Shhhhh, Sweetheart. I'm okay, I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere again," he promised her.

"Stay with me tonight?" she pleaded.

A brilliant smile softened his rugged features and he chuckled low and soft.

"Not even the Mala Noche could keep me out of your life now, Calleigh, and not just for tonight. I'm yours for the rest of your life. I love you, Calleigh. Oh, how I love you."

Calleigh's answer was to nuzzle her face into the crook of his neck, sighing contentedly as she relaxed into his arms.

"I love you too, Horatio," she murmured. "I love you too."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Moonlight filtered through the slightly open window and splashed soft patterns on the sleeping couple tangled in the soft sheets of Calleigh's bed. Her head rested on his chest, his arms held her close. After all they'd been through, they had finally found peace, sheltered in each other's arms.


End file.
